350 Humboldt

Offshore wind needs the support of local tribal nations, which are concerned that wind development will increase the risks of violence to indigenous people. Here are two events where we can support the tribes.

Walk for MMIP Awareness Day 2024

• On Monday, May 6, the Yurok Tribal Court’s To’ Kee Skuy’ Soo Ney-Wo-Chek Project is hosting a community walk in recognition of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People’s Day. Registration starts at 10am at the Wharfinger Building in Eureka. The address is 1 Marina Way. All are invited to participate in the walk for MMIP.

Understanding the MMIP Crisis: A Free Workshop and Community Event

• Humboldt County DHHS Public Health’s Family Violence Prevention Program is hosting a workshop in honor of May being MMIP Awareness Month on May 9th from 1:00-3:30 p.m. at Sequoia Conference Center in Eureka. The workshop will host guest speakers Danielle Vigil-Masten, a Hoopa Valley Tribal member with over 20+ years of experience in community advocacy, tribal management, and law; as well as Lori Jump, CEO of StrongHearts Native Helpline. More information and RSVP here

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Continuing our experiment of passing along climate news of the week…

How to change food habits…

Without substantial reductions, GHG emissions from the global food system alone would make 1.5°C an impossible temperature limit. Food systems account for ~33% of global GHG emissions, and livestock production alone accounts for ~50% of that amount despite delivering just 18% of calories and 37% of protein to the global food system. By 2030 alone, on a business as usual trajectory, emissions from the livestock sector will take almost 50% of the GHG emissions budget consistent with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.  So a variety of organizations are introducing food “nudges” to move people away from meat. The World Resources Institute identified 90 behavioral change techniques to help restaurants and foodservice operators guide diners toward plant-rich meals. Many have already been embraced by companies, public institutions and local governments. Here are some examples: A number of Nordic countries are testing nudges geared at a plant-based transition. In Denmark, the government is putting money into a project that will develop and test nudges at conferences. And Oslo, which aims to slash its emissions by 95% by 2030, has set meat-free meals by default at public functions… More Here.

City light posts for EV charging…

City light posts are ideal hosts for curbside EV charging — so long as that charging system is cheap and easy to install, safe and simple to use, and able to withstand the vagaries of life on the street. New York–based startup Voltpost has spent the past three years working on a technology package aimed at meeting those curbside charging challenges, which it’s tested in small pilot projects in New York City and Detroit so far. Last month, it announced the commercial availability of its product — a modular, street-proofed system that it hopes to deploy in cities later this year.

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CLEAN ENERGY: The Biden administration awards $43 million to 11 projects in Western states to expand rural and tribal communities’ access to small-scale clean energy. And the Biden administration awards a tribal energy company $2.6 million to install solar systems on Navajo Nation homes that lack electricity. Here in Humboldt SchatzEnergy will be working with the Karuk, Hoopa Valley and Yurok tribes on new microgrid projects.

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Global negotiations on a treaty to end plastic pollution are at a critical phase. In Canada delegates are mulling over the text of what could be the most important environmental deal since the 2015 Paris agreement on the climate crisis. The treaty, a legally binding agreement which will be signed this year, is set to cover the entire life-cycle of plastics, from the initial extraction of fossil fuels for production to the disposal of plastic waste.

Ten highest plastic waste exporters to countries not in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2023:

• Japan: Exported 541,897 tonnes.
• Netherlands: Exported 219,701 tonnes.
• United States: Exported 155,388 tonnes.
• Germany: Exported 174,966 tonnes.
• Australia: Exported 61,374 tonnes.
• Belgium: Exported 81,784 tonnes.
• UK: Exported 77,857 tonnes.

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Historic Agreement with the Federal Government and Arizona Gives Colorado River Indian Tribes Control Over Use of Their Water off Tribal Land

The deal will help the tribe raise money for infrastructure and services for its members while the water could ease the drought in the Southwest.

BY NOEL LYN SMITH

PARKER, Ariz. — Against a backdrop of the Colorado River, members of the Colorado River Indian Tribes watched Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Amelia Flores, the tribe’s chairwoman, sign a historic agreement on April 26 that asserts the tribe’s right to lease portions of their allocation of the river’s water to users away from the tribal land.

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For much of March and April, California had enough renewable energy flowing onto its main power grid to meet at least 100% of electricity demand for at least 15 minutes a day.  Details here from Politico’s Francisco “A.J.” Camacho.  The state just hit a milestone 10,000 megawatts of batteries.  From the LA Times Boiling Point blog.

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OIL ON TOP: Chevron and the Western States Petroleum Association are Sacramento’s top two lobbying spenders for the first quarter of the year, Wes reports. The two organizations spent a combined $5.5 million, beating out the California Chamber of Commerce, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association for the leading spots among the top five. They were also the top spenders each of the past three years.

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Can fire-fighters save Arctic permafrost?

Wildlife managers in Alaska are planning to parachute elite fire-fighters into remote areas to fight fires that threaten permafrost. In the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, an area the size of Denmark, fires have long been allowed to burn themselves out unless they threaten human life and property. But as climate change increases the frequency of blazes, the fear is that frozen permafrost will release its carbon as it thaws. A preprint (not peer reviewed) suggests that the resulting emissions could equate with those from a major global economy over this century. “What we’re talking about is aggressive attacks on fires when they ignite in these areas,” says earth-systems scientist Brendan Rogers. Once such fires get going, it’s often too late: “ That carbon is lost.”

 

 

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Guest post: Ice-age analysis suggests worst-case global warming is less likely

Vince Cooper and Dr Kyle Armour

Researchers explained their new research suggesting that the “climate sensitivity”, the global average warming from doubling CO2 above pre-industrial levels, is less likely to be on the extremely high end than once thought. (CarbonBrief)